Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is part of a nationwide initiative to recruit and train volunteers to help their communities respond to all types of health disasters. The MRC provides the opportunity for teams of local volunteers to contribute their time and expertise when they are needed in a public health emergency.

If you are a Carver County resident over the age of 17 with an interest in supporting our mission, check us out. You do not need a medical background; all our members may contribute and make a difference. We have opportunities for people with diverse skills and interests. Common attributes of an MRC volunteer are flexibility during an assignment, ability to take direction in a command structure, and willingness to prepare themselves and their families ahead of time for local emergencies and disasters in order to be available to volunteer with short notice.

Our Mission: To strengthen the capacity of Carver County Public Health & Environment to respond to a public health emergency

Are you interested in seeing the bigger picture of Medical Reserve Corps? Visit the National MRC website www.medicalreservecorps.gov where the profile of MRC of Carver County and other units can be viewed.

HOW TO APPLY

Registration is the first step to becoming a member of the MRC of Carver County. Go to the state-wide volunteer registry Minnesota Responds MRC at: www.mnresponds.org Click the REGISTER NOW button to begin. Keep your username and password in a safe place for use later.

After completing registration, please take the free online course Minnesota Responds Medical Reserve Corps: An Online Orientation for Volunteers at: http://sph.umn.edu/ce/online Upon completion of this course you will receive an digital Certificate of Completion. Save this and email the document to the MRC program coordinator at email mrc@co.carver.mn.us or fax certificate to (952) 361-1360.

Your key contact is the MRC unit program coordinator, Josh Carlyle, who will contact you after you register to guide you through the remaining steps of the application process.

ABOUT TRAINING

MRC units across the nation strive to help their members get meaningful training in MRC Core Competencies. MRC volunteers work under the direction of local Public Health staff. Many public health emergency responses are a collaboration with community partners including local Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Fire, local schools, Faith-based Organizations, and many others. Training helps all of us work more seamlessly together and increases our knowledge in key topic areas.

Members are offered opportunities to attend free face-to-face-trainings and self-study online courses. Classroom trainings are announced to members as they become available. Many classroom events are offered by other MRC units across the Metro Area. Feel free to attend them and network with other responders. If you are trying to decide which topics to start with, we suggest Personal & Family Preparedness, National Incident Management System, Incident Command System, Points of Dispensing (POD) and Mass Dispensing Sites (MDS) and Psychological First Aid (PFA).